Your worst/best boss?

[Mr. Security]

We all have them. Who gets your vote?

PS: Don't get yourself fired....

[Tennsix]

At my first PD a newly appointed chief said, "I don't want any Niggers, Gooks, or women working for me". He did his best to make good on that too. He was later indicted on charges related to bigoted conduct and was forced to retire.

[HotelSecurity]

My worse was the Director who was in his 70's who thought that everyone wanted to push him out & take his job. Anyone showing promise would be fired or if like me, could not be fired due to our laws, he tried to force us to quit. I put up with 2 years of hell with him doing things like sending me out to work at the hotel by the airport, taking me off of my 3pm to 11pm shift & putting me at nights etc etc etc. He finally p*ssed off the Vice President of Operations for the hotel & was told that he would have to from then on report to the Director of Security of our managemtn company. The Director there was someone he had forced out of the hotel who haopened to get the job at head office. When told theat he would now have to report to this guy he called in sick the next day & died a month later!!

[NRM_Oz]

The olden days of bad bosses

Best Boss: I have had a couple from my early days and including the one I called "The Man" - just think of the Roy Orbison song Working For The Man. He would cover us for anything we did and NEVER once stabbed me in the back or anyone in our team. He gave us full grace to do whatever needed to be done and would appreciate the little things like keeping track of his g/f's.

Another great boss I had is now a US Navy Admiral I worked with during the 2000 Olympics he was a US Navy Captain (Ret) ex mariner and really pushed us to work together - we had open authority to take command as required and as most of the team were former or current Navy Officers it was run as ship's bridge.

Worst Boss: He was nicknamed "Singlet" as he was always on your back about crap. He used rubber band as dental floss after lunch at his desk (true) and had no more than 2 pens on his desk and 6 paperclips. Fortunately I had a good boss who told him to grow up the day he tabled a book on my bad points. Ok I was 16 - 18 when I worked under his control but he also had a son a bit younger and could not split work and home. Pens were counted daily and he often accused me of stealing the el Cheapo pens (6 cents each) for my studies (they were rubbish). You were timed on everything you did and being slower meant you were recorded in his little book and often you got word of him calling around the building checking on you (regardless of age of employee).

5 years later I was made Investigator which gave me open access to every part of our premises and buildings. Conducting an investigation, he physically denied me access to 1 location under his control as he stated "I want to know what you are doing", so reporting back to his boss (division manager) he was made to explain infront of me WHY he was interfering with operations. I explained our history and told him to either treat my role with respect or I would seek a reprimand through HR, as our division manager sat in silence. Feeling brave, I added "I don't want to see this happen again, as I don't have the time to play kid's games when I am on a dead-line". Not bad for a 24 y/o to a 49 y/o - but it had to be done.

[J_Stokes]

My worst manager was a young guy who thought he knew it all, made it difficult to do your work because he was constantly changing the way things were to be done, finally dropping the programs that were in place to provide safety & shrinkage reduction. When I asked him why he dropped the programs without replacing them I was told I can, I"m the manager. turns out about a year later he was caught with his hand in the "cookie jar" I left prior to this but I sure wish I was there when a few of my old co-workers slapped the cuffs on him and told him because I'm the security officer when asked why are you doing this to me? j

[mad_malk]

Best boss: My current employer. Hey always says thank you when we offer him unsolicited suggestions, and he actually listens. He does his best to run cover for us with the clients and has places Officer safety first. Best of all he actually takes his turn and stands a post. He has worked every single post we have so he understands any complaints or suggestions of improvement and knows when people are full of ****.

Worst Boss: Guy was a wannabe cop/micro manager. Worst of all he would take every opportunity to stab us in the back. Lucky he got moved as a manager of a site and opened him self up to being written up weekly for breach of procedure and or policy. My favorite was when he let him self into a residents house against the protests of the owners teenager when the neighbors called and complained about the noise.

[integrator97]

I've had alot of good bosses over the years, but the best was probably BMCM (Bosn's Mate Master Chief) John Higgins, who I worked for when I was at Naval Weapons Station Concord. He was old school Navy, and even though I was an E-6 fresh air snipe, I learned a great deal, and had a great deal of respect and admiration. Wish I knew where he is now or what happened to him.

I've known a lot of A**holes, but they weren't my direct boss. Though I did have one self proclaimed "walking, talking rectum" who was senior to me in our shop (Navy), but not the boss.

[Chucky]

A little gross but my last supervisor was one of the nastiest unhygienic people on the earth. He always had his finger in his nose or ears or picking food out of his teeth. Unfortunately he was also a hand shaker and would greet me with one. The Howie Mandel fist approach was not his thing. As soon as he left I would bee line to the nearest wash room. That carried over to the patrol car knowing that he just used it.

[J_Stokes]

I listed the worst boss in a prior post, now for the best and a couple who merit honorable mention. The best boss was Cap'n Charlie who when I started my career in 1980 on a local college campus almost literally took me by the hand and trained me in all I would encounter on my tours of the campus. When I asked why he was personally training me not one of his lower ranked officers His reply was "so I can drop kick your a** off the campus when something is not done and you tell me I didn't know of it or no one told me about that, got it?. Yes I got that loud and clear & the 3 years spent working on that campus were great. Honorable mention
Security Director Mr. Tom O. same college became a mentor and helped me learn the ropes so to speak.
Security Manager Mr. Ray Devine who also mentored me in the finer points of distribution center safety & security. It was because of these fine gents I choose security as a career. Thanks guys. j.

[Echos13]

We answer to a consortium outfit come March who in turn will answer to whom we do at present. Ai-ya. Will let you know what kind of bosses then. For now it's pretty decent. For now.....

[Guest]

Best/Worst...

There is a multi-way tie for the worst.

My first security company. Had a supervisor who would turn off his radio and sleep rather than answer emergency calls and provide relief for guards on site. Also, always aske to borrow someone's flashlight, etc. Never prepared.

My first patrol security job. No maps of sites, didn't have addresses for many of the others. Asked my super if I could take the extra site manual home and create master maps and was told absolutely not b/c of OpSec. Asked if I could do it in the office and was also told no. Oh, and she didn't realize that patrol units needed oil/maintenance.

My bar job. The two managers were both younger/less experienced then any of the bouncers. They also catered to their friends (allowing minors in as over 21.) Also, policy changed daily. We could not defend ourselves one day, the next we could. I quit after we had a meeting where the manager whined about not having enough time to perform his duties when I asked why, for the eighth time that evening, when he was going to post our schedule.

My campus security job. I quit after realizing that they were not licensed. The current supervisor changed shifts to hours that are nearly impossible for college students to work. He fired one guard without letting him know. Just stopped scheduling him. He also refuses to handle the licensing paperwork, knowing that the guards are working illegally. I printed and sent him all of the relevant laws, including a letter from TXDPS where I asked them if it was legal. He also won't replace our broken, issued flashlights, radios, or golf cart. He also will not purchase rain gear or cold gear for his officers. He also will not pursue allowing them to protect themselves. Not even allowed OC.

The best is a tie as well.

My previous campus security director. He wasn't very bright and sometimes his e-mails were unintelligibile, but he cared about us and would do everything in his power to provide us with equipment to do our jobs.

My current employer. My SGT is probably the most top notch security officer/administrator that I have ever met. If I call because my patrol unit has an oil leak at 0300, he brings another unit and a tow truck ASAP. He also provides us with all our gear. Currently, we are unarmed. I brought that up as an issue and he is actively pursuing licensing for us. Just waiting on corporate.